The impact of two oil spill events on the water quality along coastal area of Kenting National Park, southern Taiwan

Chung-Chi Chen; Kwee Siong Tew; Ping-Ho Ho; Fung-Chi Ko; Hung-Yen Hsieh; Pei-Jie Meng

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.034

The impact of two oil spill events on the water quality along coastal area of Kenting National Park, southern Taiwan

Mar Pollut Bull. 2017 Nov 30;124(2):974-983. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.034. Epub 2017 Feb 21.

Authors

Chung-Chi Chen¹, Kwee Siong Tew², Ping-Ho Ho³, Fung-Chi Ko², Hung-Yen Hsieh⁴, Pei-Jie Meng⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 116, Taiwan.
² National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan; Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Fishery and Environmental Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan.
⁴ National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan; Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan. Electronic address: hyhsieh@nmmba.gov.tw.
⁵ National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan; Institute of Marine Biology, National Dong-Hwa University, Checheng, Pingtung 944, Taiwan. Electronic address: pjmeng@nmmba.gov.tw.

PMID: 28238329
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.02.034

Abstract

In 2009, the container ship Colombo Queen and the oil tanker W-O BUDMO grounded off Jialeshui and Houwan, respectively, in southern Taiwan. Water quality was monitored at each site to evaluate the environmental impact caused by the resulting oil spills. The results show that the PAHs, turbidity, and other nutrients increased shortly after oil spill, however levels of these parameters eventually returned to baseline levels. On the other hand, DO saturation, pH and chl. a decreased initially, reached maxima after 10days, and returned to the baseline levels after 14days. The chl. a concentration, pH and DO saturation fluctuated in a similar pattern at both sites during the oil spills, likely driven by algal blooms. In this study, we documented a full environmental recovery at coastal areas before, during and after the oil spills.

Keywords: Blooming; Oil spill; PAHs; Seawater; Water quality.

MeSH terms

Parks, Recreational
Petroleum Pollution / analysis*
Seawater / analysis*
Seawater / chemistry
Taiwan
Water Pollution, Chemical / analysis*
Water Quality*